BENGALURU  FRIDAY  SEPTEMBER 06, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 42  LATE CITY EDITION SEBI STAFFERS PROTEST DEMANDING CHAIRPERSON BUCH’S RESIGNATION A large number of employees protested outside the Securities Exchange Board of India’s headquarters in Mumbai on Thursday REGULATOR’S PRESS RELEASE SPARKS ANGER OVER 200 EMPLOYEES TOOK PART IN PROTEST The protesters demanded the resignation of Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch. They are also wanted the capital markets regulator to withdraw a press release issued on Wednesday refuting allegations of toxic work culture at its offices. Last month, some 500 Sebi employees signed a joint letter to the finance ministry highlighting the alleged harassment faced by them |P13 ■ ■ The protesting employees, numbering over 200 as per one estimate, assembled in front of Sebi headquarters in the morning and stood there for about 90 minutes. None of them spoke to the media In the press release, Sebi claimed that some “external elements” were misleading and instigating its employees to further their interests 1st MADHABI PURI BUCH IS THE FIRST FEMALE CHAIPERSON OF SEBI CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Putin proposes Want to create many Singapores in India: Modi India mediation on Ukraine war Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi China and Brazil, too, could be go-betweens; botched ’22 deal could be the starting point Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi Are we ready to negotiate with them? We have never refused to do so, but not on the basis of some ephemeral demands, but on the basis of those documents that were agreed and actually initialled in Istanbul —Vladimir Putin Meet today on fresh aid to Ukraine Pentagon will on Friday host a meeting in Germany of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, comprising over 50 nations that have funded and armed Ukraine, to discuss fresh aid for the war RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that he trusted partners like India to resolve the ongoing war with Ukraine. “India, China, Brazil are countries we have trust and confidence in and they will provide us a helping hand in resolving the conflict with Ukraine,’’ President Putin said while fielding questions during a discussion at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Putin was in conversation with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng. He said he was in touch with these countries and they had confidence in one another. Putin said the basis of the talks could be an aborted deal reached between the two sides in Istanbul in 2022. Its terms were never made public. “We managed to reach an agreement, that is the whole point. The signature of the head of the Ukrainian delegation who initialled this document testifies to this, which means that the Ukrainian side was generally satisfied with the agreements reached,” Putin said. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Ukraine on August 23, he had urged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sit across the table with President Putin to resolve the matter, adding India was ready to play an active role to restore peace in the region. Days later, he briefed Putin on the outcome of his dialogue with Zelenskyy . Separately, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referring to the “highly constructive, even friendly relations” between Modi and Putin, said the Indian PM can “lead the line on getting first-hand information from the participants in this conflict”, as he “freely communicates with Putin, Zelenskyy and the US.” He, however, said there are “no specific plans” on Modi mediating on the issue. Ukraine had earlier said it wouldn’t directly engage with Russia but was looking at a coalition of intermediaries to end the war. EXPRESS READ Kapil Parmar wins judo bronze at Paralympics PARIS: Kapil Parmar bagged India’s first-ever Paralympic medal in judo, winning a bronze in the men’s 60kg (J1) after convincingly defeating Brazil’s Elielton de Oliveira in the play-off here on Thursday. Parmar produced a superlative performance, dominating his opponent from start to finish to record a 10-0 win in the bronze medal contest | P17 Pope, Indonesia imam call for unity, peace JAKARTA: Pope Francis and the grand imam of Southeast Asia’s largest mosque, Istiqlal Mosque in Indonesia’s capital, Nasaruddin Umar, vowed on Thursday to fight religiously inspired violence and protect the environment, issuing a joint call for interfaith friendship and common cause at the heart of Francis’ visit to Indonesia | P12 State BJP to enrol five lakh members from minority groups Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi WITH the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Khalistani sympathiser Jagmeet Singh snapping ties with Canada’s ruling Liberal Party Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government , has been reduced to a minority . The simple majority mark in the House of Commons at present is 167 since there are four vacancies. Trudeau’s Liberals with 154 MPs are 13 short of a majority It was NDP with 24 MPs . that had propped up the Liberals since 2022, forcing Trudeau to bend over backwards to keep it happy by taking a soft line on Khalistanis, annoying New Delhi in the process and making the country a sanctuary for anti-India forces. This break-up has increased the chances of a snap federal election, which was scheduled in October 2025. Singh accused Trudeau of taking credit for their ideas. He said that they introduced the pharmacare framework and instilled the idea of a Palestine state with Trudeau. “We’ve torpedoed our reputation, sold off our ideas,’’ Singh lamented. According to the Indian diaspora, Trudeau’s popularity has dipped due to his position on temporary migrant workers — which has a big percentage of Indians. ‘The Canadian government is looking at sending back 70,000 foreign workers who are caregivers, truck drivers, workers. There is an increasing level of uncertainty and a lot of bias. Trudeau must go,’’ an Indian expat living in Brampton told this newspaper on condition of anonymity . He said most Asians in Canada live in constant fear of deportation. WITH THIS ISSUE CITY’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE 42 PAGES, INCLUDING 24 OF INDULGE (TABLOID) Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar will inaugurate the first phase of the Rs 23,251.66-crore Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project on Friday | P4 @ Bengaluru CONTINUED ON P4 Yr before federal poll, Trudeau government reduced to a minority YETTINAHOLE FIRST PHASE LAUNCH TODAY EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE THE state unit of BJP, which launched a membership drive on Wednesday, has set a target of enrolling five lakh members from minority communities. The BJP Minority Community cell has been given this task during a workshop held recently . Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy told reporters that Congress has been misleading Muslims on various issues. “Congress always claims it is pro-Muslim. We want to know how many from this community have become CM in Karnataka,’’ he said. He said the Congress is not even ready to appoint a Muslim as KPCC president. Stating that the Congress leaders never visited Muslim colonies to know the ground realities there, he alleged that they treated the Dalits the same way . Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Singapore counterpart Lawrence Wong during their visit to AEM Holdings Ltd, in Singapore, on Thursday | PTI City auto driver ‘slaps’ woman for cancelling ride, arrested EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru POLICE arrested an autorickshaw driver on Thursday evening for allegedly assaulting a woman for cancelling the Ola ride she booked in the city on Tuesday . The auto driver has been identified as Muthuraj. The woman and her friend booked two Ola autos during peak-hour traffic. When one of them arrived, the woman cancelled her ride. Enraged by this, Muthuraj followed the auto in which the woman and her friend were travelling. He forced their auto to stop after overtaking it in Magadi Road police limits and took the woman to task for cancelling the ride.When the woman defended her action of cancelling the ride, Muthuraj alle g edly slapped her stating that he wasted money on fuel because of her. A video of the incident went viral after the woman posted it on X on Wednesday She claimed . that she did not get a proper response from Ola except for an automated reply Taking cogni. sance of her post, Magadi Road police arrested Muthuraj. S Girish, DCP (West), on Thursday confirmed that the auto P3 driver has been arrested. Muthuraj, accused auto driver When I told him (driver) that I would inform the police, he challenged me to do so and tried to snatch my phone The victim INDIA and Singapore on Thursday elevated their ties to a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ after the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore PM Lawrence Wong. The two sides also signed four MoUs for cooperation in the semiconductor industry, digital technologies, skill development, and healthcare. Modi extended an invite to Wong to visit India, which he accepted. “Singapore isn’t just a partner country; Singapore is an inspiration for any developing country. We in India also want to create many Singapores within itself. I am happy to state that we will progress on this front together. Our ministerial roundtable is a path breaking mechanism for cooperation in skilling, digitalisation, mobility, semiconductor and cyber security said Modi, ,’’ who met his counterpart for the first time since the latter became Singapore PM in May . During the bilateral talks, both leaders reviewed the progress of India-Singapore relations and agreed that elevation of the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership would give a boost to India’s Act East Policy . The two leaders reviewed existing cooperation in the fields of defence and security, maritime domain awareness, education, AI, fintech and science and technology . Modi also announced the setting up of an Invest India office in Singapore, which will be a handholding office for investors in Singapore in various areas identified in the six pillars. India and Singapore will be celebrating 60 years of bilateral relations in 2025. Modi also announced that India would open its first Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre in Singapore. 2 kids killed in school van-bus collision D5L EX-GRATIA FOR FAMILIES OF DECEASED Raichur Deputy Commissioner Nitesh K told reporters that the CM has directed him to release Rs 5 lakh each as compensation to the families of the deceased children. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Raichur TWO children died on the spot and 18 were seriously injured when their school bus collided with a KSRTC bus near Kapagal village in Manvi taluk of Raichur district on Thursday morning. The deceased have been identified as Samarth Amaresh, 7, and Srikanth Maresha, 12, students of Loyola School in Manvi. According to sources, the condition of three children and school bus driver Balawan is said to be critical. The injured are being treated at RIMS Hospital in Raichur. Forty children were traveling in the school bus when the accident took place. Expressing shock over the death of two schoolchildren in the accident, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in an X post, said the injured children will be treated free of cost. Compensation will be given to the families of those killed in the accident, the CM said. The mangled remains of the school bus, after it collided with a KSRTC bus near Manvi in Raichur district on Thursday